History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

1891. BaySpo: The Japanese Weekly Entertainment Paper
(San Francisco Bay Area).2010. Gurume jiji tankenka: Fuyu
no ichidai ibent. Fanshii Fuudo Shoo ni itte kita zoi no maki
[Gourmet old-guy explorer: The biggest winter gourmet
event. This article is: “I went to the fancy food show”]. Jan.
29. No. 1106. p. 15. [Jap]
• Summary: Over 80,000 items were exhibited. There were
familiar goods too. Showed the possibilities of Japanese
foods. Photos show: (1) The Kikkoman booth. (2) Marukome
miso. (3) A tea both. (4) Minami Satoh standing, in
traditional Japanese clothes, discussing and demonstrating
his natto. (6) A Caucasian blonde girl. “A lot of Americans
who attended said they liked the taste of natto.” (7) Members
of a miso company and a plastic container of their miso.
Address: California.
1892. Shurtleff, William. 2010. Thoughts about George
Ohsawa. SoyaScan Notes. Feb. 5. Compiled by William
Shurtleff of Soyinfo Center.
• Summary: There are fi ve things I greatly admire about
George Ohsawa: (1) He had a tremendous sense of gratitude
for life itself and for all things. (2) He emphasized the
oneness of all things (nonduality) and showed that the pairs
of opposites are more deeply one. (3) He had a marvelous
love of life and sense of humor. People remember him as
a deeply happy and charismatic man. (4) He had a very
original and creative mind–especially for a Japanese man
of his time. (5) He introduced many fi ne Japanese foods
into Western diets that Caucasians now actually eat on a
regular basis–miso, tofu, shoyu / tamari, umeboshi, kuzu,
sea vegetables, seitan, natto, and many more, and in doing so
played a major role in starting the natural foods movement
in America. Address: Founder and owner, Soyinfo Center,
Lafayette, California. Phone: 925-283-2991.
1893. Product Name: Megumi Natto (Organic).
Manufacturer’s Name: Japan Traditional Foods.
Manufacturer’s Address: 3620 Frei Road, Sebastopol,
California 95472. Phone: 707-827-1788.
Date of Introduction: 2010. February.
Ingredients: Soybeans, Bacillus natto culture.
Wt/Vol., Packaging, Price: 3 oz. (85 gm) plastic cup with
no sauces. One cup retails for about $2.99.
How Stored: Refrigerated.
New Product–Documentation: Letter (e-mail) from
Minami Satoh, founder and owner of Japan Traditional
Foods Inc. Gives basic information about product at the time
it was launched. “Megumi” means “a blessing” in Japanese.
For details, see www.meguminatto. com. The package design
is a shallow plastic cup. The round label is white and black
on red (see next page). The soybeans are certifi ed organic by
QAI.
Product with Label brought by Tak Kimura. 2010. April
21. Plastic cup with paperboard sleeve. White, red, black,
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 576